Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog will be on Canadian Tire Centre ice tonight, but much to the chagrin of a sector of Senators fans who would have liked to see a blockbuster move by Pierre Dorion over the last couple of days, the much talked about Avalanche duo will still be in Colorado colors.
The Senators will have at least a couple of their new faces in the lineup, with Alex Burrows and Viktor Stalberg both expected to debut with their new club tonight. (I am not sure as of the time of writing this if Chris DiDomenico will also be in the lineup or not.)
With three division rivals hot on their heels, the time has come for Ottawa to stop pussy-footing around and bear down. Over the past two months (or years for that matter) we have seen the home side largely play very well against good teams, but struggle to beat the also-rans and teams that should have no business being in most games. January was supposed to be a tough sled, and the Senators more than held their own (6-3-2 mostly against some of the top tier teams in the league).
February was a month where a majority of their games were against non-playoff squads and they barely held their heads above water with a 7-6 record, in a stretch where they could (and should) have put some distance between themselves and the Bruin/Leaf/Panther chase pack.
Now the sprint to the finish commences, teams have the trade deadline in their rear view mirrors and it is time to put up or shut up. It is a mix of good and not so good opponents on the horizon, including 5 key divisional games - 3 over an 8 day span against the Canadiens and two against the Bruins - as well as games against top end teams Chicago, Minnesota, Columbus and Pittsburgh.
That means games like this one at home against a team that is going more for the first overall pick than the Stanley Cup at this point become must win games. The Avalanche, who they face tonight and again in a return matchup next Saturday, are a woeful team with a few good players. They are in dead last in the league, and a pretty remarkable 14 points behind the 29th place Coyotes. This is not a night where the "first home game after a long road trip" is a suitable excuse or reason for a sub-par performance.
Ottawa needs to send a message tonight by having a dominant effort. They have new faces who should be energized by being in a playoff race, their two top wingers have a couple of games back under their belts after missing a couple of contests with injuries and other than Bobby Ryan, they are as healthy as they are going to get between now and the end of the season. Even when they have won lately it hasn't been convincing for the most part and despite their spot in the standings (hanging on to second place in the Atlantic Division) there is still a ton of room for improvement. Full credit to them for where they are, second place even if it is a weak division, but they have left a lot of points on the table in the last 30 days or so that could come back to haunt them in a big way if that trend continues.
They now know there isn't going to be a miracle Hail Mary star player being parachuted in, (not that many expected it, but the hope always lingers) and Pierre Dorion did what he felt was necessary to add pieces that should help depth-wise to make the whole team a bit better for the "now" without sacrificing too much of the future at the same time. It is now on the shoulders of the likes of Stone, Hoffman, Kyle Turris, Erik Karlsson and the goaltending duo to get the job done and set the pace with more regularity and consistency, and the rest of the team to fall in line and get their jobs done.
Unfortunately I won't likely get to see this one, or Saturdays game against the Blue Jackets as I am heading to St. Louis for a weekend road trip (and as has been the case this season when I have had to travel, the NHL or AHL team from that particular city I am visiting has always been on the road) and won't have much access other than highlights. So I will be more looking for your feedback tomorrow as to how they looked in general and how the new additions fit in.